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Trees in the Pavement
They were cutting the branches off the trees again.
When Zari first arrived in East London, she had wondered about the trees. She had never seen any fields and farms in London, like there were at home in Kosovo. But there were more trees. Or at least you noticed them here. In Kosovo, there were entire forests, but no one thought about them because they were, well, just there.
In London, the trees look uncomfortable growing out of the pavement - as if they were refugees in a foreign country, too.
Zari's story takes you from the fighting in Kosovo to the concrete streets of the city of London - but there is conflict here too. You can't leave problems behind just because you leave your country as a refugee in the back of a lorry full of cheese! Making friends is a minefield in itself - and the secrets she discovers in the family just add to the trouble.
War, peace, faith, and nationality - everything is changing in Zari's life.
It's not just the trees that are feeling uncomfortable.
When Zari first arrived in East London, she had wondered about the trees. She had never seen any fields and farms in London, like there were at home in Kosovo. But there were more trees. Or at least you noticed them here. In Kosovo, there were entire forests, but no one thought about them because they were, well, just there.
In London, the trees look uncomfortable growing out of the pavement - as if they were refugees in a foreign country, too.
Zari's story takes you from the fighting in Kosovo to the concrete streets of the city of London - but there is conflict here too. You can't leave problems behind just because you leave your country as a refugee in the back of a lorry full of cheese! Making friends is a minefield in itself - and the secrets she discovers in the family just add to the trouble.
War, peace, faith, and nationality - everything is changing in Zari's life.
It's not just the trees that are feeling uncomfortable.
176 pages, Paperback
First published July 14, 2008
About the author
Jennifer Anne Grosser
1 book8 followersHaving grown up in a mono-cultural family with a cross-cultural focus, Jennifer Anne Grosser has loved travel and interacting with other cultures from a very early age. As the daughter of pastor/missionaries, she spent six of her earliest years in Honduras, although her own cultural transition there was rather unsuccessful. In college, she traveled to India for five weeks, where she worked mainly with children. After paying off education-incurred debts by working as a nanny in Connecticut, she moved to London, England, to work with refugees and other migrants in the East End.
Jennifer's experiences with refugee families influenced the writing of Trees in the Pavement, her first book. The author hopes Trees will open a window onto a segment of society which, in any country, is often forgotten or viewed with suspicion.
Ms. Grosser has written freelance articles for regional publications, and has had a brief article accepted for print by Pray! magazine. She has also ostensibly had poems printed in various unsung poetry anthologies (although she has never seen them), and once in high school, she tied for first place with a last-minute submission to a science fiction short story contest. She is currently seeking representation for Favored One, a novel about a woman in first century Palestine.
Newly married in 2012, Ms. Grosser lives with her husband, two dogs, a cat and many fish in a cozy little house in New England.
Jennifer's experiences with refugee families influenced the writing of Trees in the Pavement, her first book. The author hopes Trees will open a window onto a segment of society which, in any country, is often forgotten or viewed with suspicion.
Ms. Grosser has written freelance articles for regional publications, and has had a brief article accepted for print by Pray! magazine. She has also ostensibly had poems printed in various unsung poetry anthologies (although she has never seen them), and once in high school, she tied for first place with a last-minute submission to a science fiction short story contest. She is currently seeking representation for Favored One, a novel about a woman in first century Palestine.
Newly married in 2012, Ms. Grosser lives with her husband, two dogs, a cat and many fish in a cozy little house in New England.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 16, 2008
This excellent story about Albanian refugees in London has spunky, lovable characters that you just can't get enough of. Jennifer Grosser does an excellent job of weaving the developing (an endearing)thoughts of nine year old Zari into a complex story of the struggles of a family's attempts to preserve their culture in a foreign land. Zari's struggles with bigotry, religion, and family are realistic and insightful. A fabulous first novel and an enjoyable read for any developing girl or adult.
October 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure going into it as a person who is not Christian, but I had received a signed copy from the author, so I gave it a read. The writing and character development is so good. I really felt for every character, and felt their growth as the story went on. The family had been through so much, and they stuck together. Even during difficult times, they pulled together. And they were far from perfect. I think that was the point. But I wanted them to succeed. I was really impressed with the author's knowledge of different cultures of refugees, and what it was like to be an immigrant family in London. And I also liked that the book was not about pushing the author's agenda. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a nice story about growth, coming of age, and dealing with difficult cultural and family dynamics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews